Includes notes from Writing Without Teachers by Peter Elbow and Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief by Victoria Chang.

• Ignoring the editor in our heads

• Developing voice

• Getting out the garbage to get to the good stuff

• Allowing digressions

• Writing as an organic process

• Beginning - just start writing!

• Writing as an act/practice of discovery

Writing Prompt: Write for at least 15 minutes. Make it up as you go along. Feel free to experiment with language, let your thoughts and ideas wander, explore your imagination, or even make a list of words that you find interesting. The only rule is that you must keep going. Do not stop or give up, even if you feel like you have run out of things to say. Just keep writing!

Includes slides with journal writing prompts.

List of Creative Writing Prompts - including AWP Prompts from Prompted  in Writer's Chronicle

Literature-based writing prompts

Writing Prompt Generator

Poetry Writing Prompt Generator from Robert Peake

Poetry for Strangers: blog by Elizabeth Sharp McKetta with one-word prompts

Adapted from “Writing Openers: Unbuttoning; Opening the Box” from The Therapeutic Potential of Creative Writing: Writing Myself by Gillie Bolton

Instructions:

1. Purchase or gather a collection of buttons; the more variety, the better.

2. Dump the buttons out on the table for participants to browse and choose. Each person should choose 1-5 buttons to inspire their writing. They can also choose a button to give to a neighboring participant.

3. Write anything that comes into your head, whether it seems connected with the buttons or not.

4. Consider saving time for sharing and feedback afterward.

Suggestions from Writing Without Teachers by Peter Elbow:

Write your first draft:

After you have written your first draft:

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• Summarize: What is the "center of gravity" in your piece? - "it may be an assertion, but it could also be a mood, an image, a central detail or event or object--as long as it somehow sums up everything.) This summing-up process should be difficult: it should tell you more than you already know."

• 
  

Watch the 2 minute video below for help with finding inspiration for your writing. 

My example: What has been inspiring me this week is the song “The Lighthouse Keeper” by Sam Smith. I love how this song has beautiful harmonization, and the words are very poetic; it reminds me of someone who is out on a voyage and has someone who cares for them deeply and is waiting for them to return home for the holidays. The song is very calm yet moving, and when I listen to it, it makes me feel peaceful and it fills me with a sense of purpose. I have been playing it on repeat all week. (I also love holiday songs and this is one of my favorites!)  

Other examples:

• Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet who wrote odes (celebratory poems) to many simple and everyday things.

• In the book The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo, Xiomara (the main character) writes many poems about her life, even the painful and upsetting things

“Words give people permission to be their fullest self.” (From The Poet X)

Write about this in your notebook for 12 minutes.

If you have difficulty getting started, choose one of these prewriting strategies.

What if I can't think of something to write about?

Try using Ernest Hemingway's advice: "Write the one truest sentence that you know... write one true sentence, and then go from there."

Ernest Hemingway “began each day’s work searching for ‘one true sentence’ that allowed him to capture the ‘real thing’ of life.” (Write Like Hemingway pg 43)

Write for at least 12 minutes. Start off with one true sentence and see where it takes you.

(See my example)

Want some literary inspiration?

• Fiction: Excerpt from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

• Nonfiction: October 3, 1978 letter by Leslie Marmon Silko to James Wright from The Delicacy and Strength of Lace

• Nonfiction: "This Is What I Believe" - essay from the book Hope Nation by David Levithan

• "Caminante, No Hay Camino" [Traveler, There is No Road] by Antonio Machado

Pick a word and design your journal writing around it.

Write for at least 12 minutes.

Example: "The Opposites Game," by Brendan Constantine, is a poem inspired by reactions to the word "gun"

Write about something that you read (or listened to, or watched).

What did you read (or listen to or watch)? Why did you choose it? What was your favorite line/quote? What did you learn from it?  What did you like most about it? Did it inspire you in any way?

You can also use this list of literature journal reflection questions to help you with writing.

Write for at least 12 minutes.

See my example

1. Use one of the following websites to select a poem that you like.

   • Poetry Foundation 

   • Poets.org

2. Write a reflection on it in your journal.

   • What is the title and author of your poem?

   • Why did you chose this poem?

   • What did you like about it?

   • What does it make you think of?

You can also use this list of literature journal reflection questions to help you with writing your poetry reflection.

Poetry Inspiration - 5 Words

1. Read “A Ritual to Read to Each Other” by William Stafford. (Can also be done with a different poem, a prose excerpt, or an essay.)

2. Write down 5 words or phrases that resonate with you.

3. Use those 5 words to inspire your own journal writing and/or write your own poem/reaction.

Choose a news article, essay or other nonfiction piece to read. After reading, write down:

• The title, author, source and date of the article and copy/paste the link

• Your thoughts about the topic

• Your favorite quotes

• Your creative writing questions and ideas

Write a poem, essay, short story or play inspired by your article

Write a blackout poem. Choose a text (online or in print) that you want to use as your background. “Erase” or “blackout” all of the text except for the words that you are using to create your poem.

The Blackout Poetry Maker is a website that allows you to input a digital text and create your blackout poem online. 

Examples:

• “Lean Into It,” They Say. by Ms. Ntoso

• From the book Hotel Almighty by Sarah J. Sloat

• Blackout poem by Austion Kleon

• Example blackout poem

Watch the 3 minute video (I know this video features little kids, but this teacher explains it very well).

Choose a moment or topic that you would like to write about, and write as much detail as possible for at least 15 minutes.

Choose a punctuation mark to feature in your writing.

Examples:

• testify by Eve L. Ewing - features the ampersand &

If your life was a combination of lines from different poems and songs, what would they be? Why?

Si tu vida fuera una combinación de versos de diferentes poemas y canciones, ¿cuáles serían? ¿Por qué?

Examples:

• My Life is a Poem by Rhymefest

• My Life in Poetry & Song - my example

My Life is a Poem

1. Write your poem. If your life was a poem, what would it say? For word choice, consider using a thesaurus or using words from your reading this week.

2. Write your author’s commentary:

   • What is the main message in your poem?

   • What words and phrases are most important in your poem? Why?

   • How do these words and phrases influence the tone of your poem?

   • How would you describe the tone of your poem?

3. Provide feedback on at least one other person’s work.

   • What were your favorite words, phrases and images in the poem?

   • What did you notice about the author's writing style?

   • What did the poem make you wonder?

Watch the 5 minute video Introduction to Writing Style & Author’s Craft.

Use the List of Craft Elements to choose one element that you will use in your writing today. Write it down at the top of your paper.

Write for at least 12 minutes. 

Objective:

• Write at least one paragraph using indirect characterization.

• Challenge: Write a three-paragraph detailed character sketch using your 10 vocabulary words. Include details related to characterization, context and setting, and try to use mostly indirect characterization.

Instructions:

Pick someone to write about. It can be a real person or a fictional character. Write a scene in which you reveal your character’s personality using the following techniques:

• Direct: Tell us what your character’s personality traits are.

• Indirect

  • Speech: Include dialogue in which the things your character says and how he/she says them reveal a lot about his/her personality.

  • Effect on Others: How do other people react to your character? 

  • Thoughts: What is your character thinking?

  • Actions: What does your character do in this scene? How does he/she behave?

  • Looks: Tell us what your character looks like.

See examples:

• Movie: The Royal Tenenbaums

• My writing example

Instructions:

1. Watch this 5 minute video introducing storytelling and genre.

2. Choose 2-3 elements of storytelling to focus on. For help with choosing, try spinning the Elements of Storytelling Wheel. You may also choose to focus on a particular genre, combine two or more genres, or even come up with your own genre.

   • You may also choose to continue working on a story, essay or poem that you started in a previous journal write.

3. Write for at least 15 minutes. Remember this is all simply practice and experimentation. Have fun writing!

Pour your heart out in a letter or poem, work on a piece you started previously, write about something that moves or inspires you, write about something happening in your life, or simply write your thoughts down.

Letter-writing ideas to consider:

• Thank you letter

• Letter to your future self

• Personal letter to someone you care about

Letter Writing Unit

Objectives:

• Identify and describe the following characteristics in a letter: Audience, Summary & Author’s Message, Writing Style and Literary Techniques.

• Use a dictionary or thesaurus and context clues to determine the meaning of new words in a text.

• Apply the following characteristics in writing a letter: Audience, Summary & Author’s Message, Writing Style and Literary Techniques.

• Correctly use at least 5 new words in drafting a letter.

Your gratitude letter can be typed and sent as an email or handwritten and delivered in person or mailed.

Objective: Write a gratitude letter that describes a specific impactful moment, how you felt about it at the time, and how it has impacted or changed your life.

Instructions:

1. Begin by brainstorming in your journal writing. Think of a specific impactful moment in your life. Who was the person who made a difference for you in that moment? 

2. Write your letter, using literary techniques and any writing style you choose. Try to be as detailed as possible, and be as creative as you can! In your letter be sure to:

   • Describe the specific impactful moment.

   • Express how you felt about it at the time.

   • Express how you feel about it now and how it has impacted or changed your life.

3. If possible, give your gratitude letter to the person who made the positive impact.

Read "How to Write a Gratitude Letter" by Gina Hamadey

Note: These writing prompts can bring up a lot of personal stories and emotions. 

Read the "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon

What do you notice first?

What types of words and phrases did the poet choose to include? What was your favorite? What impact did these words and phrases have on you as a reader?

Make a list of things that reflect your life, or write in detail about one or two. Begin your journal writing with “I come from ____” Structure your writing in whatever style you want (prose, poem, list, etc)

Optional template